Systems and methods for immersing spectators in sporting event and evaluating spectator-participant performance

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods enable sporting event spectators to do more than just observe an online or live contest with the spectators&#39; engagement being limited to group messaging with other spectators (and possibly also the game stars/participants) during an event. The present invention provides a new level of participation for spectators. Spectators can play the game alongside their favorite athlete/star and a computer system evaluates how the participants perform compared to the athlete. The system can monitor several participants and rank their performance against performance of actual athletes to determine which participants made similar moves, took similar actions, or took action that may be deemed superior to action taken by actual athletes. From the collected data top performers can be acknowledge/awarded. The data can also be useful to identify rising stars from the pool of participants, and new athletes worthy of participants in future competitions cane identified.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION

This non-provisional patent application claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. § 119(e) of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/430,975, filed on Dec. 7, 2016, entitled “Systems andMethods for Immersing Spectators in Sporting Events and EvaluatingSpectator-Participant Performance,” which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments are generally related to sporting events including liveevents and video games including multiplayer video gaming. Moreparticularly, the embodiments relate to systems and methods forimmersing spectators into live sporting events including multiplayervideo gaming competitions such as eSports, and also for means ofevaluating spectator-participant performance.

BACKGROUND

Competitive sporting competitions have taken on new forms given theadvent of high-speed computer networks and devices. No longer aresporting events in large venues with sellout crowds the domain ofbaseball, football, basketball, or soccer. Promoters and sponsor ofsporting events must also include competitive computer gaming to themix.

The term eSports (electronic sports) relates to a form of competitionthat is facilitated by electronic systems, particularly video games. Theterm eSports is also known or referred to as, esports, e-sports,competitive (video) gaming, professional (video) gaming, or pro gaming).With eSports, the input of players and teams as well as the output ofthe eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces. Mostcommonly, eSports take the form of organized, multiplayer video gamecompetitions, particularly between professional players. The most commonvideo game genres associated with eSports are multiplayer online battlearena (MOBA), real-time strategy, fighting, and first-person shooter(FPS). Tournaments, such as the League of Legends World Championship,The International, the Bettle.net World Championship Series, theEvolution Championship Series, the Intel Extreme Masters, and the SmiteWord Championships provide live broadcasts of the competition, prizemoney, and salaries to competitors. Top players can even receiveendorsement deals/contracts from third parties wanting to promote theirproducts and services.

Although organized online and offline competitions have long been a partof video game culture, participation and spectatorship of such eventshave seen a large surge in popularity from the late 2000s and early2010s. While competitions around 2000 were largely between amateurs, theproliferation of professional competitions and growing viewership nowsupports a significant number of professional players and teams, andmany video game developers now build features into their games designedto facilitate such competition. Casinos are realizing the potential ineSports and are evaluating how eSports can be implemented in theirgambling enterprises in a manner that can generate gaming revenue aswell as attract eSports events and spectators to casino venues.

As of the filing date of this patent document, the most successfultitles featured in professional competition have been the multiplayeronline battle arena (MOBA) games Dota 2, and League of Legends, and thefirst person shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Other gameswith significant distribution and sales include Smite, StarCraft II,Call of Duty, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, and Overwatch.

Tens of millions people (and fast approaching hundreds of millions)worldwide watch eSports. The increasing availability of online streamingmedia platforms, particularly Twitch.tv. Twitch.tv has become central tothe growth and promotion of eSports competitions.

It is a live streaming video platform owned by Twitch Interactive, asubsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. The site primarily focuses on videogaming, including playthrough of video games, broadcasts of eSportscompetitions, creative content, and more recently, music broadcasts.

Demographically, Major League Gaming has reported viewership that has agreater male than female viewership, with most of viewers between theages of 18 and 34. Despite this, several female personalities withineSports are hopeful about the increasing presence of female gamers.South Korea has several established eSports organizations, which havelicensed pro gamers since the year 2000. Recognition of eSportscompetitions outside South Korea has come somewhat slower. Along withSouth Korea, most competitions take place in Europe, North America, andChina. Despite its large video game market, eSports in Japan isrelatively underdeveloped, which has been attributed largely to itsbroad anti-gambling laws.

Given the fast growth, global expansion and economic impact of eSports,what is needed are new systems and methods that enable spectators toalso enjoy and engage in eSports, and for business (such a casinos) tocapture revenue at a time when aging citizenry that currently patronizetraditional gaming venues and casinos is being replaced by a demographicof younger customers that desire entertainment more to their liking,such as computer gaming.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiments and isnot intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of thevarious aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained bytaking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as awhole.

It is a feature of the embodiments to enable sporting event (i.e.,eSports) spectators to do more than just observe an online or livecontest with the spectators' engagement being limited to group messagingwith other spectators (and possibly also the game stars/participants)during an event. Furthermore, the disclosed embodiments can provide anew level of participation for spectators. Spectators can play the gamealongside their favorite athlete/star and a computer system evaluateshow the participants perform compared to the athlete. The disclosedsystem can monitor several participants and rank their performanceagainst performance of actual athletes to determine which participantsmade similar moves, took similar actions, or took action that may bedeemed superior to action taken by actual athletes. From the collecteddata (e.g., at the end of an event) top performers can beacknowledge/awarded (e.g., 1^(st), 2^(nd), and 3^(rd) place). The datacan also be useful to identify rising stars from the pool ofparticipants, and new athletes worthy of participants in futurecompetitions cane identified.

The service described herein can also serve as a talent finder foreSports and eGaming events. It can also provide another form of revenuebecause spectators wishing to participate in gaming alongside a selectedathlete during an event can pay for such access. Where gambling isallowed, other participants cannot only bet on the headlinergamers/athletes, but can also side bet on the spectator participants.

Accordingly, it is a feature of the disclosed embodiments to provide amethod for electronically facilitating the immersion of spectators in alive event. The disclosed method includes a step or operation of storingdata associated with the live event in at least one server configuredfor managing eSports events/data and associated with a live event. Thedata can include digital video associated with the live event and dataindicative of plays associated with at least one athlete of the liveevent. Another step can involve storing a second set of data in theserver that is associated with and electronically provided by action ofat least one spectator using a client device (e.g., a mobile handhelddevice such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or portable gamingapparatus such as the Nintendo NX) at the live event Client devices canalso include AR/VR headgear used in association with a portablecomputer. Anticipated plays can be monitored by a spectator, andanticipated plays can be provided by the spectator through the clientdevice. Anticipated plays can be collected from the spectator via thesecond set of data and matched with an actual play the athlete aftercollecting the anticipated plays. Actual plays contained within thefirst set of data, and the matching results in a correlation of theanticipated plays with respect to actual plays by the at least oneathlete to render data indicative of performance rankings with respectto the at least one spectator.

It is another feature of the embodiments that a system providesimage-processing of digital video so as to transform the digital videoassociated with a live event into a digital format suitable for displayof the digital video in a first display area of a graphical userinterface of a client device used by spectators or participants (otherthan athletes) of an electronic sporting event. Additionally, the dataassociated with a spectator-participant can be simultaneously displayedin a second display area of a graphical user interface of the clientdevice.

It is yet another feature of the disclosed embodiments that performancerankings are evaluated and can be utilized to determine at least one of:a prize allocation to at least one top performer selected from a pool ofspectator-participants; and establishment of a talent pool ofspectator-participants for use by recruiters of future professionalcompetitions.

It is another feature of the embodiments that at least onespectator-participant is also a spectator of the live event whenreceiving data at at least one spectator-participant client device andis a spectator-participant in the live event when providing data in theform of anticipated action via a spectator-participant client device toa server associated with the live event, and more than one spectatoralso receives the data at client devices associated with each of themore than one spectator.

It is another feature of the embodiments that performance rankings areutilized to determine at least one of: a prize allocation to at leastone top performer selected from a pool of spectator-participants; andestablishment of a talent pool of spectator-participants for use byrecruiters of future professional competitions.

It is another feature of the embodiments wherein client devicesinteracting with the system can be provided in the form of a VR (VirtualReality) device and the digital streaming is enhanced for VR renderingvia the VR device.

It is another feature of the embodiments to permit spectators to wageron an outcome of the matching through the graphical user interface.

It is another feature of the embodiments to permit the at least onespectator to wager on at least one of an outcome of the matching,spectator-participant performance with respect to athletes, and/or anoutcome of the eSports event through the graphical user interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals can refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification,further illustrate the disclosed embodiments and, together with thedetailed description of the invention, serve to explain the principlesof the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system enabling spectators andspectator-participants to immerse in a live sporting event beingbroadcast/streamed over flat panel displays screens streaming a liveevent, and with the support of a data network and while in communicationwith a server, in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a system enabling selection of video programming froma select flat panel display in a venue where many screens and programsare being rendered (e.g., casino sports book), the determination of amatch with programming and the availability of related data, andenabling access to data associated with programming displayed on aparticular flat panel selected by a handheld device, even when severalflat panel devices are also located near the handheld device (HHD), inaccordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a system deployed in a large venue such as a sportsstadium that utilizes wireless infrastructure at the venue to broadcastavailable data associated with the sporting event, and aspects of thesporting event can also be streamed/displayed on flat panel displaysthat can be located throughout the large venue and can also enableaccess to the data associated with the sporting event taking place atthe venue, in accordance with an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot from a handheld device illustratingdata regarding a spectator-participant's information including identity,scores, statistics, ranking, etc., in accordance with an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a screen shot from a handheld device illustrating alist of wagering options regarding a live sporting event that can beselected in coordination with a remote server;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of steps that can be followed forimmersing spectators in a live sporting event and evaluatingspectator-participant performance, in accordance with an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of steps that can be followed forimaging processing in support of a system for immersing spectators in alive sporting event and evaluating spectator-participant performance, inaccordance with an example embodiment; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of steps for immersing spectators ina live sporting event, evaluating spectator-participant performance andsupporting wagering on performance of participating spectators, inaccordance with an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Subject matter will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific example embodiments.Subject matter can, however, be embodied in a variety of different formsand, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended to beconstrued as not being limited to any example embodiments set forthherein; example embodiments are provided merely to be illustrative.Likewise, a reasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matteris intended. Among other things, for example, subject matter can beembodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly,embodiments can, for example, take the form of hardware, software,firmware or any combination thereof (other than software per se). Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be takenin a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms can have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in anotherembodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a differentembodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matterinclude combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

In general, terminology can be understood, at least in part, from usagein context. For example, terms such as “and,” “or,” or “and/or” as usedherein can include a variety of meanings that can depend, at least inpart, upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” ifused to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B,and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, hereused in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as usedherein, depending at least in part upon context, can be used to describeany feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or can beused to describe combinations of features, structures, orcharacteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,”or “the,” again, can be understood to convey a singular usage or toconvey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. Inaddition, the term “based on” can be understood as not necessarilyintended to convey an exclusive set of factors and can, instead, allowfor existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described,again, depending at least in part on context.

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of some embodiments.However, it can be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the artthat some embodiments can be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, unitsand/or circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscurethe discussion.

Discussions herein utilizing terms such as, for example, “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “establishing,” “analyzing,”“checking,” or the like, can refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) ofa computer, a computing platform, a computing system, or otherelectronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform datarepresented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within thecomputer's registers and/or memories into other data similarlyrepresented as physical quantities within the computer's registersand/or memories or other information storage medium that can storeinstructions to perform operations and/or processes.

The terms “plurality” and “a plurality,” as used herein, include, forexample, “multiple” or “two or more.” For example, “a plurality ofitems” includes two or more items.

References to “one embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “demonstrative embodiment,” “various embodiments,” etc.,indicate that the embodiment(s) so described can include a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodimentnecessarily includes the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment”does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it can.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified the use of the ordinaladjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a commonobject, merely indicate that different instances of like objects arebeing referred to, and are not intended to imply that the objects sodescribed must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, inranking, or in any other manner.

Some embodiments can be used in conjunction with various devices andsystems, for example, a Personal Computer (PC), a desktop computer, amobile computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tabletcomputer, a Smartphone device, a smartwatch, wearable computing devices,a server computer, a handheld computer, a handheld device, a PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld PDA device, an on-boarddevice, an off-board device, a hybrid device, a vehicular device, anon-vehicular device, a mobile or portable device, a consumer device, anon-mobile or non-portable device, a wireless communication station, awireless communication device, a wireless Access Point (AP), a wired orwireless router, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audiodevice, an audio-video (AN) device, a wired or wireless network, acellular network, a cellular node, a Multiple Input Multiple Output(MMO) transceiver or device, a Single input Multiple Output (SMO)transceiver or device, a Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceiveror device, a device having one or more internal antennas and/orexternmal antennas, Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems,multi-standard radio devices or systems, a wired or wireless handhelddevice, e.g., a Smartphone, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)device, vending machines, sell terminals, and the like.

Note that the term “server” as utilized herein refers generally to acomputer that provides data to other computers. Such a server can servedata to systems on, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) or a widearea network (WAN) over the Internet. Many types of servers exist,including web servers, mail servers, and files servers. Each type canrun software specific to the purpose of the server. For example, a Webserver can run Apache HTTP Server or Microsoft IS, which both provideaccess to websites over the Internet. A mail server can run a programsuch as, for example, Exim or iMail, which can provide SMPT services forsending and receiving email. A file server might utilize, for example,Samba or the operating system's built-in file sharing services to sharefiles over a network. A server is thus a computer or device on a networkthat manages resources. Other examples of servers include print servers,database servers and so on. A server can be dedicated, meaning that itperforms no other tasks besides their server tasks. On multiprocessingoperating systems, however, a single computer can execute severalprograms at once. A server in this case can refer to the program that ismanaging resources rather than the entire computer.

Some embodiments can be used in conjunction with devices and/or networksoperating in accordance with existing Long Term Evolution (LTE)specifications, e.g., “3GPP TS 36.304 3rd Generation PartnershipProject; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); User Equipment (UE)procedures in idle mode”; “3GPP TS 36.331 3rd Generation PartnershipProject; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control(RRC); Protocol specification”; “3GPP 24.312 3rd Generation PartnershipProject; Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals;Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF) ManagementObject (MO)”; and/or future versions and/or derivatives thereof, unitsand/or devices which are part of the above networks, and the like.

Some embodiments can be used in conjunction with one or more types ofwireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, RadioFrequency (RF), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM), Orthogonal FDM(OFDM), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA),Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA),Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), extendedGPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), CDMA2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA, Multi-Carrier Modulation(MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth, Global Positioning System(GPS), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Max, ZigBee®, Ultra-Wideband (UWB),Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), second generation (2G),2.5G, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, 5G, Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular system, LTEadvance cellular system, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA),High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High-Speed Packet Access(HSPA), HSPA+, Single Carrier Radio Transmission Technology(1.times.RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Enhanced Data rates forGSM Evolution (EDGE), and the like. Other embodiments can be used invarious other devices, systems and/or networks.

The phrase “hand held device” and/or “wireless device” and/or “mobiledevice”, as used herein, includes, for example, a device capable ofwireless communication, a communication device capable of wirelesscommunication, a communication station capable of wirelesscommunication, a portable or non-portable device capable of wirelesscommunication, or the like. In some demonstrative embodiments, awireless device can be or can include a peripheral that is integratedwith a computer, or a peripheral that is attached to a computer. In somedemonstrative embodiments, the phrase “wireless device” and/or “mobiledevice” can optionally include a wireless service and can also refer towearable computing devices such as smart watches, eyeglass computingdevices (e.g., Google Glass, etc.) and AR/VR goggles.

A “hand held device” or HHD is a type of mobile device or wirelessdevice, which can be held in one's hand during use, such as a smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet computing device, laptopcomputer, portable gaming apparatus, and the like. Non-HHD computingsystems such as a head mounted display (e.g., virtual realitygoggles/head gear) can be utilized in place of an HHD in some instancesand can be configured to receive wirelessly streaming data such asvideo, audio, etc. such as discussed herein. It can be appreciated thatsuch devices are not hand held devices and do not constitute an HHDsince they are not used as “hand held devices” but as other types ofcomputing devices, such as wearable computing devices. The exampleembodiments herein primarily describe methods and systems involving handheld devices. It can be appreciated, however, that other mobile devicessuch as wearable computing devices can be utilized in place of a handheld device (wearable devices are not “hand held devices” because areintended to be used in a user's hands but instead worn by the user) orcan be utilized with other hand held devices. For example, venue-baseddata as discussed herein can be streamed not only to hand held devicesbut also to other mobile computing devices such as wearable computingdevices. Note that as utilized herein, the term venue-based data canrefer to multimedia data including video and/or audio and can alsoinclude other advertising, sports and/or entertainment information.

The term “communicating” as used herein with respect to a wirelesscommunication signal includes transmitting the wireless communicationsignal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example,a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating awireless communication signal, can include a wireless transmitter totransmit the wireless communication signal to at least one otherwireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver toreceive the wireless communication signal from at least one otherwireless communication unit.

Some demonstrative embodiments are described herein with respect to aLTE cellular system. However, other embodiments can be implemented inany other suitable cellular network, e.g., a 3G cellular network, a 4Gcellular network, a 5G cellular network, a WiMax cellular network, andthe like.

The term “antenna,” as used herein, can include any suitableconfiguration, structure and/or arrangement of one or more antennaelements, components, units, assemblies and/or arrays. In someembodiments, the antenna can implement transmit and receivefunctionalities using separate transmit and receive antenna elements. Insome embodiments, the antenna can implement transmit and receivefunctionalities using common and/or integrated transmit/receiveelements. The antenna can include, for example, a phased array antenna,a single element antenna, a dipole antenna, a set of switched beamantennas, and/or the like.

The terms “cell” or “cellular” as used herein, can include a combinationof network resources, for example, downlink and optionally uplinkresources. The resources can be controlled and/or allocated, forexample, by a cellular node (also referred to as a “base station”), orthe like. The linking between a carrier frequency of the downlinkresources and a carrier frequency of the uplink resources can beindicated, for example, in system information transmitted on thedownlink resources.

Note that the term venue as utilized herein can refer to venues such as,for example, sports stadiums, sports arenas, entertainment venues, movietheaters, concert arenas, convention centers, political conventions,casinos, fairgrounds, amusement parts, theme parks (e.g., Disneyland,Disneyworld, Universal Studios, etc.) open spaces subject to an event,and so on. An example of a venue is not only a professional sportsarena/stadium such as a baseball park or a football stadium or abasketball or hockey arena, but also venues such as locations where, forexample, high school graduation ceremonies or other events take place.Events can occur over a vast area of land (e.g., winter and summerOlympics, motocross, Tour de France), and therefore a venue cannecessarily expand to include the land or area covered by and/orassociated with the event. An amusement or theme park is also an exampleof a venue. The term venue as utilized herein can refer not only to aplace (e.g., the stadium or racing arena), but also to an event itself.

Thus, an eSports event and/or the place where the eSports event istaking place can be a venue. Note that the term eSports (also known aselectronic sports, esports, e-sports, competitive (video) gaming,professional (video) gaming, or pro-gaming) can be defined as a form ofsports where the primary aspects of the sport are facilitated byelectronic systems; the input of players and teams as well as the outputof the eSports system are mediated by human-computer interfaces.

Most commonly eSports can take the form of organized multiplayer videogame competitions, particularly between professional players. The mostcommon video game genres associated with eSports are, for example,real-time strategy, fighting, first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayeronline battle arena (MOBA). Tournaments such as The International theLeague of Legends World Championship, the Battle.net World ChampionshipSeries, the Evolution Championship Series and the Intel Extreme Masters,provide both live broadcasts of the competition, and prize money andsalaries to competitors.

Note that the term “spectator” generally refers to a person engaged inwatching a live event, either in person at a live venue or over amultimedia system. A spectator can also engage with data from remoteservices (servers) associated with the live programming to obtainadditional information, and an also be authored to place wagers on liveevents where online gambling is authorized. A “spectator-participant” asused herein refers to someone that is more than a spectator because theyare engaged in competitive action with respect to the live event.“Co-play” or “co-playing” as referred to herein refers to aspectator-participant's ability to engage in gaming alongsideprofessional gaming athletes that are competing in live events (e.g.,eSports team members engaged in battle via computers gaming systems).Co-play as described herein and enabled by the embodiments can allow aspectator-participants to play the very same game that is being featuredlive while shadowing a particular athlete, and thespectator-participant's performance can be evaluated (e.g., compared ormatched) against the athlete's performance. As will be further derivedherein, data (e.g., statistics) that result from the competition can beof value to many parties.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 enabling spectators andspectator-participants to immerse in a live sporting event beingbroadcast/streamed over flat panel displays screens 110 streaming a liveevent 109, and with the support of a data network 105 and while incommunication with a server 101. System 100 can enable flat panel, orassociated and supporting multimedia hardware module, discovery andaccess to data associated with programming (e.g., a live videobroadcast) displayed on a flat panel 110 selected by a handheld device115. A flat panel 110 can have access to a data network 105 to retrieveprogramming and information regarding a live event, athletes, andspectator-participants engaging in co-playing activity with the liveevent from a remote server 101, either directly or via connectabledevices 109 like Apple TV, Roku, popular gaming systems and set topboxes. The flat panel 110 can also have an internal (built-in) wirelesscommunication module 111 (e.g., WiFi or Bluetooth, or both) to supportcommunications with nearby handheld devices 115 or to obtain furtherdata access from the network 105 in the same manner as a connecteddevice like Apple TV, PS2, WII, or other gaming or media devices wouldthrough application software. The flat panel device can include a memory112 that can function as a queue to store programming displayed on adisplay screen (e.g., LCD, LED, Plasma, or the like) integrated in theflat panel, and which can include a limited amount of past programmingpreviously displayed on the display screen 109 integrated in the flatpanel. The wireless communication module can wirelessly broadcastidentifying information 113 for the flat panel 110 to nearby handhelddevices 115. The identifying information 113 can be any of anidentification number (screen labeled #10, as shown) physically locatedon or near a flat panel 110 that can be read by spectators, orelectronic information broadcasted about the physical location of theflat panel 110 in a venue 120, or broadcasted information aboutprogramming being displayed on the flat panel 110. The broadcast ofwireless-enabled device identities is common for WiFi hotspots andBluetooth connected devices, where identifying information isperiodically sent for receipt by devices in search of a wireless dataconnection; however, flat panel television sets do not currentlybroadcast identifying information (in particular, after-market labels,or physical location information), and information broadcasted fromother devices today are not used for purposes of obtaining dataassociated with programming displayed on flat panel displays wherenumerous other flat panel displays may also be co-located (located nextto each other) in a crowded venue (e.g., a sports bar, casino or sportsstadium).

Flat panels 110 enabled with a wireless communication module 111 andmemory 112 can be programmed using an application to broadcastidentifying information rather than just the manufacturer and modelinformation. Manufacturer and model information would be useless ifbroadcasted from, for example, ten flat panel devices in a sports barthat are made by the same manufacturer and are the same model. This iswhy the use of unique identifying information is necessary in accordancewith some features of the present invention. Information will bedescribed in further detail below, but can include physical location,programming information, or a name/label physically attached to the flatpanel to assist users in identification of the desired flat panel tointeract with.

The handheld device 115 can be provided in the form of a smartphone(e.g., iPhone, Android-based smartphone) or tablet and include anapplication 116 that enables the discovery of available flat panels 110near the handheld device 115 or identification of video programmingbeing displayed on a selected flat panel. Discovery can be accomplishedby receiving identifying information 113 for the flat panel in a list ofavailable devices 114, or for the programming being rendered on the flatpanel 100. The flat panel 110 can be selected on the handheld device115, and the handheld device 115 can then begin receiving dataassociated with programming displayed at the flat panel 110. Thehandheld device 115 can also interact with programming displayed at theflat panel 110 via the application 116.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 enabling selection of live videoprogramming to interact with from a select flat panel display 218 in avenue where many screens and programs are being utilized to render livesports programming (e.g., casino sports book). The system can enable thedetermination of a match with programming and the availability ofrelated data, and enabling access to data associated with programmingdisplayed on a particular flat panel selected by a handheld device, evenwhen several flat panel devices are also located near the handhelddevice. The system 200 can enable handheld device 215 access to datarelated to the video programming from a remote server 251 based on theidentification of video programming rendering on the selected flat panel210.

According to an alternative embodiment, an image of the videoprogramming (e.g., image of a live MLB Baseball Game) can be captured bya camera 213 integrated in the handheld device 215. The image can thenbe transferred to a remote server 251 accessible by the handheld device215 over a data network 250 (e.g., via WIFI or cellular data) whereinthe captured image can be compared to images of video programming, whichcan be stored in a database 252 associated with or accessible by theremote server 251. If the image matches the images of video programmingstored in the database 252, a notification message and/or indication ofthe availability of data associated with the video programming capturedby the handheld device 215 from the selected flat panel 210 is sent tothe handheld device 215. The handheld device 215 can capture the imagefrom the selected flat panel 210 with the handheld device 215 despitethe availability of several additional flat panel devices 201, 202, 212,and 217, in close proximity to selected flat panel 210 because only theimage from the selected flat panel 210 is what is used for comparison atthe server and for an indication of video programming-related dataavailability.

As shown on the display screen 214 of handheld device 215, theprogramming can be identified (e.g., “eSports”) once a match isdetermined.

Once the mobile device 215 is engaged in a reviewing or participating ina selected program (e.g., “Pro League Finals”), a user of the mobiledevice can obtain information over a data network 250 form a remoteserver 251. Other live events available for access and interaction areshown in FIG. 2, such as Esports Championship Series Season 2 Finals212, World Cyber Arena Global Finals 211, MLB baseball games 205, horseraces 204, etc. Information can include items such as those listed inthe screen 214 of the mobile device 215, such as “Teams,” “Players,”“Events,” “Wagering,” and “Co-play”. Data regarding teams, players, andevents can be obtained from a database 252 associated with the server251 (or another database/server (not shown) storing associatedinformation). With respect to wagering, the mobile device can facilitategambling by a user based on the live sporting event being monitored.Gambling can be available data that can include video, replays,statistics, advertisement, etc., that can as also be shown on displayscreen 214. The data can be managed with the touchscreen user interfaceof the handheld device 215, which is typically a feature of modemsmartphones and tablet computers together with wireless data networkaccess and an integrated camera. It should be appreciated now that auser of the handheld device can choose to capture an image from anotherflat panel device (e.g., flat panel 211, “NFL Football Game”) if theuser desires access to new data related to a different video program.

Once live sports programming information of interest is identified(i.e., the same football game, regardless of the flat panel used toidentify it), the handheld device 215 can selectively retrieveprogramming related data from either the selected flat panel or a remoteserver 251 via a wireless data network given the teaching providedherein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system 300 deployed in a large venue 350 such as asports stadium that utilizes wireless infrastructure including hotspots340 at the venue to broadcast available data associated with programmingbeing displayed on flat panel displays 330 located throughout commonareas of the large venue to handheld devices 315 also located at thevenue 350, and can also enable access to the data associated with liveprogramming displayed on a particular flat panel 310 (e.g., flat panelsdeployed in a private suite location) selected by handheld devices 315,and the selection can be accomplished when several flat panel devicesare also located near the handheld device in accordance with features ofthe present invention. Wireless infrastructure can include hotspotsdeployed throughout the large venue.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,320,820 issued to Ortiz, co-inventor of the presentinvention, entitled “Self-contained data communication system nodes asstand-alone pods or embedded in concrete walkways and in walls at publicvenues including sports and entertainment venues,” describes hotspotsdeployed in a sports venue to enable handheld device access tovenue-related data. Note that U.S. Pat. No. 8,320,820 is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. U.S. Pat. No. 8,320,820, which canbe utilized to implement certain novel features of the presentinvention, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for itsteaching. The hotspot pods described by Ortiz can be adapted with mediaand gaming capabilities as described herein to provide handheld devicesusers with a list of data related to programming being displayed on flatpanels in the venue that is available for retrieval by the handhelddevices, or the availability of interaction with the programming that isbeing displayed. With the present invention, the skilled can imagine amulti-participant interactive session (e.g., gaming, social networking)that is directly associated with live programming (e.g., eSports events)being displayed on flat panels located at the venue.

In accordance with features of the present invention, a system deployedin a sports stadium 350 can enable sports fans using smartphones 315 torecognize and interact with media being displayed at the venue toretrieve instant replays, statistics, and other data based onprogramming being viewed on numerous flat panel displays 330 typicallylocated within such a venue 350. The system can also support interactionby spectators that want to engage as participants in the sporting eventas spectator-participants. A football fan, for example, can re-watch aninstant replay for a programming he just viewed on a flat panel display310 located near his seat, a baseball fan can review additional factsstatistics for an athlete shown on a flat panel 310 that is currently atbat. The invention benefits all sports (basketball, soccer, ice hockey,tennis) so long as flat panel displays 330 exist in the venue and aredisplaying active programming to attendees. Live programming informationcan also be used by the handheld device 315 to retrieve additionalinformation from a remote server as previously described.

FIG. 4 illustrates a screen shot 400 from a handheld device 215illustrating a menu-like list 401 of information that can be obtainedfrom a server 251 in associated with a spectator-participant.Information can include: Name/ID, Overall Score, Comparison withAthlete, ranking, historical performance data (i.e., statistics), andcan also offer wagering options. A “spectator” is a regular fan of asporting event that is amused by viewing streaming information (e.g.,video, statistics) regarding a live event that is being watched (eitherin person or live at a venue). A “spectator-participant,” however, is aperson engaged in co-playing along with athletes engaged in a liveevent, such as a eSports completion. The Spectator-participant'sactivities/capabilities can be measured and matched against aprofessional athlete, and then data revealing thespectator-participant's performance can be recorded, matched against theathlete's performance and then evaluated, resulting in statistics forthe spectator-participant. The statistics can be used by mere spectatorsto wager on the performance of spectator-participants. The statisticscan also be used to recruit/draft high performing spectator-participantsfor professional competitions if their performance proves worthy. Dataon numerous spectator-participants can be pooled, thereby creating atalent pool for recruiting/drafting new talent for eSports competitionsand teams. Incentives, such as awards, prizes, recognition, can beprovided to spectator-participants. Revenue can be raised fromspectator-participants wanting to be engaged in co-play against proathletes in a manner that is tracked and rewarded (either with cash,prizes, or potential recruitment).

In accordance with features of the present invention, a system deployedin a sports stadium can enable sports fans using smartphones to interactwith media being displayed at the venue to retrieve instant replays,statistics, and other data based on programming being viewed on numerousflat panel displays typically located within such a venue. A footballfan, for example, can re-watch an instant replay for a programming hejust viewed on a flat panel display located near his seat, a baseballfan can review additional facts statistics for an athlete shown on aflat panel that is currently at bat. The invention benefits all sports(e.g., eSports, football, basketball, soccer, ice hockey, tennis,baseball, etc.) so long as flat panel displays exist in the venue withthe present invention capabilities and are displaying active programmingto attendees. Programming information can be used by the handheld deviceto retrieve additional information from a remote server as previouslydescribed.

Referring to FIG. 5, a menu 501 displayed on a display 500 of a clientdevice such as the handheld device 215 can provide Wagering Options forusers. A spectator of a live sporting event can access wagering optionsand bet on athlete performance, team performance, andspectator-participant performance. A spectator and user of the handhelddevice 215 can also access their accounts/profiles and informationregarding scheduled events. Users can set up a wagering account tosupport the wagering on a live sporting event, such as an eSportscompetition.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 of a method for electronicallyfacilitating the immersion of spectators in a live event. As indicatedat block 610, a step or operation can be implemented for storing in atleast one server associated with a live event, a first set of dataassociated with the live event can be stored in at least one serverassociated with a live event, and the first set of data can includedigital video associated with the live event and actual plays associatedwith action by at least one athlete of the live event. As shown in block620, a second set of data associated with and electronically provided byan action in the form of anticipated plays by at least onespectator-participant of the live event provided through at least onespectator-participant client device can be stored in the at least oneserver. Then, as indicated at block 630, the anticipated plays withrespect to the at least one spectator-participant can be monitored. Asindicated thereafter at block 640, the anticipated plays provided by theat least one spectator-participant can be collected from the second setof data. Next, as depicted at block 650, the anticipated plays can bematched with actual plays, the actual plays contained within the firstset of data, wherein the matching results in a correlation of theanticipated plays with respect to actual plays by the at least oneathlete to render performance data with respect to the at least onespectator-participant.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram 700 of method steps forelectronically facilitating the immersion of spectators in a live eventincluding image processing associated with the event. As shown at block710, at step or operation can be implemented in which the digital videois image-processed so as to transform the digital video associated withthe live event into a digital format suitable for display of the digitalvideo in a first display area of a graphical user interface of the atleast one client device associated with at least one of spectators andspectator-participants. Then, as indicated at block 720, datarepresenting anticipated plays associated with the at least onespectator-participant is simultaneously displayed in a second displayarea of the graphical user interface of the at least one client devicewith data of athletes.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram 800 of method steps forelectronically facilitating the immersion of spectators in a live event.As illustrated at block 810, a step or operation can be implementedwherein a first set of data associated with the live event can be storedin at least one server associated with a live event and the first set ofdata can include digital video associated with the live event and actualplays associated with action by at least one athlete of the live event.As shown next at block 820, a second set of data associated with andelectronically provided by an action in the form of anticipated plays byat least one spectator-participant of the live event provided through atleast one spectator-participant client device can be stored in the atleast one server.

Then as depicted at block 830, the anticipated plays with respect to theat least one spectator-participant can be monitored. As shown at block840, the anticipated plays provided by the at least onespectator-participant can be collected from the second set of data.Thereafter, as described at block 850, the anticipated plays can bematched with actual plays, the actual plays contained within the firstset of data, wherein the matching results in a correlation of theanticipated plays with respect to actual plays by the at least oneathlete to render performance data with respect to the at least onespectator-participant. Then, as depicted at block 860, the at least onespectator can be permitted to wager on at least one of: an outcome ofthe matching, spectator-participant performance with respect toathletes, and/or an outcome of the event through the graphical userinterface

It should be appreciated that handheld devices can be pre-registeredand/or pre-authorized to access the remote server or servers to employthe services taught herein. Registration can require any of useridentity, contact/address information, demographics, setting up ausername, setting up a password, occupation, areas of interest, paymentof a fee, and establishment of an account for wagering. Registered usercan then be recognized by a server based on device identification orupon logging into the server.

It should also be appreciated that advertising data (e.g., in the formof text ads or short video commercials) can be provided to handhelddevices or other clients utilized by spectators andspectator-participants, either locally at a venue or remotely, forobtaining or engaging with data including video that is of interest(related to the video programming displayed on a flat panel) prior to,or after, receiving the data including video. Advertising data cansupport a revenue model for a service embodying the features of thepresent invention so that the service can be provided free of charge toend users rather than collecting user fees.

The claims, description, and drawings of this application may describeone or more of the instant technologies in operational/functionallanguage, for example as a set of operations to be performed by acomputer. Such operational/functional description in most instances canbe specifically-configured hardware (e.g., because a general purposecomputer in effect becomes a special purpose computer once it isprogrammed to perform particular functions pursuant to instructions fromprogram software).

Importantly, although the operational/functional descriptions describedherein are understandable by the human mind, they are not abstract ideasof the operations/functions divorced from computational implementationof those operations/functions. Rather, the operations/functionsrepresent a specification for the massively complex computationalmachines or other means. As discussed in detail below, theoperational/functional language must be read in its proper technologicalcontext, i.e., as concrete specifications for physical implementations.

The logical operations/functions described herein can be a distillationof machine specifications or other physical mechanisms specified by theoperations/functions such that the otherwise inscrutable machinespecifications may be comprehensible to the human mind. The distillationalso allows one of skill in the art to adapt the operational/functionaldescription of the technology across many different specific vendors'hardware configurations or platforms, without being limited to specificvendors' hardware configurations or platforms.

Some of the present technical description (e.g., detailed description,drawings, claims, etc.) may be set forth in terms of logicaloperations/functions. As described in more detail in the followingparagraphs, these logical operations/functions are not representationsof abstract ideas, but rather representative of static or sequencedspecifications of various hardware elements. Differently stated, unlesscontext dictates otherwise, the logical operations/functions arerepresentative of static or sequenced specifications of various hardwareelements. This is true because tools available to implement technicaldisclosures set forth in operational/functional formats-tools in theform of a high-level programming language (e.g., C, java, visual basic),etc.), or tools in the form of Very high speed Hardware DescriptionLanguage (“VHDL,” which is a language that uses text to describe logiccircuits)—are generators of static or sequenced specifications ofvarious hardware configurations. This fact is sometimes obscured by thebroad term “software,” but, as shown by the following explanation, whatis termed “software” is a shorthand for a massively complexinterchaining/specification of ordered-matter elements. The term“ordered-matter elements” may refer to physical components ofcomputation, such as assemblies of electronic logic gates, molecularcomputing logic constituents, quantum computing mechanisms, etc.

For example, a high-level programming language is a programming languagewith strong abstraction, e.g., multiple levels of abstraction, from thedetails of the sequential organizations, states, inputs, outputs, etc.,of the machines that a high-level programming language actuallyspecifies. In order to facilitate human comprehension, in manyinstances, high-level programming languages resemble or even sharesymbols with natural languages.

It has been argued that because high-level programming languages may usestrong abstraction (e.g., that they may resemble or share symbols withnatural languages), they are therefore a “purely mental construct.”(e.g., that “software”—a computer program or computer-programming—issomehow an ineffable mental construct, because at a high level ofabstraction, it can be conceived and understood in the human mind). Thisargument has been used to characterize technical description in the formof functions/operations as somehow “abstract ideas.” In fact, intechnological arts (e.g., the information and communicationtechnologies) this is not true.

The fact that high-level programming languages may use strongabstraction to facilitate human understanding should not be taken as anindication that what is expressed is an abstract idea. In an exampleembodiment, if a high-level programming language is the tool used toimplement a technical disclosure in the form of functions/operations, itcan be understood that, far from being abstract, imprecise, “fuzzy,” or“mental” in any significant semantic sense, such a tool is instead anear incomprehensibly precise sequential specification of specificcomputational—machines—the parts of which are built up byactivating/selecting such parts from typically more generalcomputational machines over time (e.g., clocked time). This fact issometimes obscured by the superficial similarities between high-levelprogramming languages and natural languages. These superficialsimilarities also may cause a glossing over of the fact that high-levelprogramming language implementations ultimately perform valuable work bycreating/controlling many different computational machines.

The many different computational machines that a high-level programminglanguage specifies are almost unimaginably complex. At base, thehardware used in the computational machines typically consists of sometype of ordered matter (e.g., traditional electronic devices (e.g.,transistors), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), quantum devices, mechanicalswitches, optics, fluidics, pneumatics, optical devices (e.g., opticalinterference devices), molecules, etc.) that are arranged to form logicgates. Logic gates are typically physical devices that may beelectrically, mechanically, chemically, or otherwise driven to changephysical state in order to create a physical reality of Boolean logic.

Logic gates may be arranged to form logic circuits, which are typicallyphysical devices that may be electrically, mechanically, chemically, orotherwise driven to create a physical reality of certain logicalfunctions. Types of logic circuits include such devices as multiplexers,registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), computer memory devices, etc.,each type of which may be combined to form yet other types of physicaldevices, such as a central processing unit (CPU)—the best known of whichis the microprocessor. A modem microprocessor will often contain morethan one hundred million logic gates in its many logic circuits (andoften more than a billion transistors).

The logic circuits forming the microprocessor are arranged to provide amicro-architecture that will carry out the instructions defined by thatmicroprocessor's defined Instruction Set Architecture. The InstructionSet Architecture is the part of the microprocessor architecture relatedto programming, including the native data types, instructions,registers, addressing modes, memory architecture, interrupt andexception handing, and external Input/Output.

The Instruction Set Architecture includes a specification of the machinelanguage that can be used by programmers to use/control themicroprocessor. Since the machine language instructions are such thatthey may be executed directly by the microprocessor, typically theyconsist of strings of binary digits, or bits. For example, a typicalmachine language instruction might be many bits long (e.g., 32, 64, or128 bit strings are currently common). A typical machine languageinstruction might take the form “11110000101011110000111100111111” (a 32bit instruction).

It is significant here that, although the machine language instructionsare written as sequences of binary digits, in actuality those binarydigits specify physical reality. For example, if certain semiconductorsare used to make the operations of Boolean logic a physical reality, theapparently mathematical bits “1” and “0” in a machine languageinstruction actually constitute a shorthand that specifies theapplication of specific voltages to specific wires. For example, in somesemiconductor technologies, the binary number “1” (e.g., logical “1”) ina machine language instruction specifies around +5 volts applied to aspecific “wire” (e.g., metallic traces on a printed circuit board) andthe binary number “0” (e.g., logical “0”) in a machine languageinstruction specifies around −5 volts applied to a specific “wire.” Inaddition to specifying voltages of the machines' configuration, suchmachine language instructions also select out and activate specificgroupings of logic gates from the millions of logic gates of the moregeneral machine. Thus, far from abstract mathematical expressions,machine language instruction programs, even though written as a sting ofzeros and ones, specify many, many constructed physical machines orphysical machine states.

Machine language is typically incomprehensible by most humans (e.g., theabove example was just ONE instruction, and some personal computersexecute more than two billion instructions every second).

Thus, programs written in machine language—which may be tens of millionsof machine language instructions long—are incomprehensible. In view ofthis, early assembly languages were developed that used mnemonic codesto refer to machine language instructions, rather than using the machinelanguage instructions' numeric values directly (e.g., for performing amultiplication operation, programmers coded the abbreviation “mult,”which represents the binary number “011000” in MPS machine code). Whileassembly languages were initially a great aid to humans controlling themicroprocessors to perform work, in time the complexity of the work thatneeded to be done by the humans outstripped the ability of humans tocontrol the microprocessors using merely assembly languages.

At this point, it was noted that the same tasks needed to be done overand over, and the machine language necessary to do those repetitivetasks was the same. In view of this, compilers were created. A compileris a device that takes a statement that is more comprehensible to ahuman than either machine or assembly language, such as “add 2+2 andoutput the result,” and translates that human understandable statementinto a complicated, tedious, and immense machine language code (e.g.,millions of 32, 64, or 128 bit length strings). Compilers thus translatehigh-level programming language into machine language.

This compiled machine language, as described above, is then used as thetechnical specification which sequentially constructs and causes theinteroperation of many different computational machines such thathumanly useful, tangible, and concrete work is done. For example, asindicated above, such machine language—the compiled version of thehigher-level language—functions as a technical specification, whichselects out hardware logic gates, specifies voltage levels, voltagetransition timings, etc., such that the humanly useful work isaccomplished by the hardware.

Thus, a functional/operational technical description, when viewed by oneof skill in the art, is far from an abstract idea. Rather, such afunctional/operational technical description, when understood throughthe tools available in the art such as those just described, is insteadunderstood to be a humanly understandable representation of a hardwarespecification, the complexity and specificity of which far exceeds thecomprehension of most any one human. Accordingly, any suchoperational/functional technical descriptions may be understood asoperations made into physical realty by (a) one or more interchainedphysical machines, (b) interchained logic gates configured to create oneor more physical machine(s) representative of sequential/combinatoriallogic(s), (c) interchained ordered matter making up logic gates (e.g.,interchained electronic devices (e.g., transistors), DNA, quantumdevices, mechanical switches, optics, fluidics, pneumatics, molecules,etc.) that create physical reality representative of logic(s), or (d)virtually any combination of the foregoing. Indeed, any physical object,which has a stable, measurable, and changeable state may be used toconstruct a machine based on the above technical description. CharlesBabbage, for example, constructed the first computer out of wood andpowered by cranking a handle.

Thus, far from being understood as an abstract idea, it can berecognizes that a functional/operational technical description as ahumanly-understandable representation of one or more almost unimaginablycomplex and time sequenced hardware instantiations. The fact thatfunctional/operational technical descriptions might lend themselvesreadily to high-level computing languages (or high-level block diagramsfor that matter) that share some words, structures, phrases, etc. withnatural language simply cannot be taken as an indication that suchfunctional/operational technical descriptions are abstract ideas, ormere expressions of abstract ideas. In fact, as outlined herein, in thetechnological arts this is simply not true. When viewed through thetools available to those of skill in the art, suchfunctional/operational technical descriptions are seen as specifyinghardware configurations of almost unimaginable complexity.

As outlined above, the reason for the use of functional/operationaltechnical descriptions is at least twofold. First, the use offunctional/operational technical descriptions allows near-infinitelycomplex machines and machine operations arising from interchainedhardware elements to be described in a manner that the human mind canprocess (e.g., by mimicking natural language and logical narrativeflow). Second, the use of functional/operational technical descriptionsassists the person of skill in the art in understanding the describedsubject matter by providing a description that is more or lessindependent of any specific vendor's piece(s) of hardware.

The use of functional/operational technical descriptions assists theperson of skill in the art in understanding the described subject mattersince, as is evident from the above discussion, one could easily,although not quickly, transcribe the technical descriptions set forth inthis document as trillions of ones and zeroes, billions of single linesof assembly-level machine code, millions of logic gates, thousands ofgate arrays, or any number of intermediate levels of abstractions.However, if any such low-level technical descriptions were to replacethe present technical description, a person of skill in the art couldencounter undue difficulty in implementing the disclosure, because sucha low-level technical description would likely add complexity without acorresponding benefit (e.g., by describing the subject matter utilizingthe conventions of one or more vendor-specific pieces of hardware).Thus, the use of functional/operational technical descriptions assiststhose of skill in the art by separating the technical descriptions fromthe conventions of any vendor-specific piece of hardware.

In view of the foregoing, the logical operations/functions set forth inthe present technical description are representative of static orsequenced specifications of various ordered-matter elements, in orderthat such specifications may be comprehensible to the human mind andadaptable to create many various hardware configurations. The logicaloperations/functions disclosed herein should be treated as such, andshould not be disparagingly characterized as abstract ideas merelybecause the specifications they represent are presented in a manner thatone of skill in the art can readily understand and apply in a mannerindependent of a specific vendor's hardware implementation.

At least a portion of the devices or processes described herein can beintegrated into an information processing system. An informationprocessing system generally includes one or more of a system unithousing, a video display device, memory, such as volatile ornon-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors or digitalsignal processors, computational entities such as operating systems,drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one ormore interaction devices (e.g., a touch pad, a touch screen, an antenna,etc.), or control systems including feedback loops and control motors(e.g., feedback for detecting position or velocity, control motors formoving or adjusting components or quantities). An information processingsystem can be implemented utilizing suitable commercially availablecomponents, such as those typically found in datacomputing/communication or network computing/communication systems.

Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the arthas progressed to the point where there is little distinction leftbetween hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; theuse of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that incertain contexts the choice between hardware and software can becomesignificant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs.Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes or systems or other technologies describedherein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, firmware, etc., in oneor more machines or articles of manufacture), and that the preferredvehicle will vary with the context in which the processes, systems,other technologies, etc., are deployed. For example, if an implementerdetermines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer mayopt for a mainly hardware or firmware vehicle; alternatively, ifflexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly softwareimplementation that is implemented in one or more machines or articlesof manufacture; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt forsome combination of hardware, software, firmware, etc. in one or moremachines or articles of manufacture. Hence, there are several possiblevehicles by which the processes, devices, other technologies, etc.,described herein may be effected, none of which is inherently superiorto the other in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependentupon the context in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specificconcerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of theimplementer, any of which may vary. In an embodiment, optical aspects ofimplementations will typically employ optically-oriented hardware,software, firmware, etc., in one or more machines or articles ofmanufacture.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely examples, and that in fact, many other architectures can beimplemented that achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected” or “operablycoupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and anytwo components capable of being so associated can also be viewed asbeing “operably coupleable” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably coupleable include, but arenot limited to, physically mateable, physically interacting components,wirelessly interactable, wirelessly interacting components, logicallyinteracting, logically interactable components, etc.

In an example embodiment, one or more components may be referred toherein as “configured to,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,”“adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Suchterms (e.g., “configured to”) can generally encompass active-statecomponents, or inactive-state components, or standby-state components,unless context requires otherwise.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, orexamples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examplescontain one or more functions or operations, it will be understood bythe reader that each function or operation within such block diagrams,flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually orcollectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware in one ormore machines or articles of manufacture, or virtually any combinationthereof. Further, the use of “Start,” “End,” or “Stop” blocks in theblock diagrams is not intended to indicate a limitation on the beginningor end of any functions in the diagram. Such flowcharts or diagrams maybe incorporated into other flowcharts or diagrams where additionalfunctions are performed before or after the functions shown in thediagrams of this application. In an embodiment, several portions of thesubject matter described herein is implemented via Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs),digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However,some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part,can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or morecomputer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or moreprograms running on one or more computer systems), as one or moreprograms running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or moreprograms running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or asvirtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry orwriting the code for the software and or firmware would be well withinthe skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. Inaddition, the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein arecapable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms,and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter describedherein applies regardless of the particular type of signal-bearingmedium used to actually carry out the distribution. Non-limitingexamples of a signal-bearing medium include the following: a recordabletype medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc(CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory,etc.; and a transmission type medium such as a digital or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link (e.g., transmitter,receiver, transmission logic, reception logic, etc.), etc.).

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to the reader that,based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the subject matter described herein and itsbroader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompasswithin their scope al such changes and modifications as are within thetrue spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Ingeneral, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g.,bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms(e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but notlimited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” etc.). Further, if a specific number of an introducedclaim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recitedin the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent ispresent. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appendedclaims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and“one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of suchphrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of aclaim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits anyparticular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claimscontaining only one such recitation, even when the same claim includesthe introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinitearticles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically beinterpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holdstrue for the use of definite articles used to introduce claimrecitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introducedclaim recitation is explicitly recited, such recitation should typicallybe interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typicallymeans at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense of the convention (e.g., “a system having atleast one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systemsthat have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together,B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instanceswhere a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” isused, in general such a construction is intended in the sense of theconvention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” wouldinclude but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, Calone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). Typically a disjunctive word or phrasepresenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description,claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate thepossibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, the operations recited thereingenerally may be performed in any order. Also, although variousoperational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should beunderstood that the various operations may be performed in orders otherthan those that are illustrated, or may be performed concurrently.Examples of such alternate orderings includes overlapping, interleaved,interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental,simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless contextdictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “relatedto,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended toexclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments are contemplated. The various aspects andembodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and arenot intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit beingindicated by the following claims.

Improvements and modifications can be made to the foregoing withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. It can beappreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other featuresand functions, or alternatives thereof, can be desirably combined intomany other different systems or applications. It can also be appreciatedthat various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein can be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

It should be appreciated from the foregoing disclosure that the methodsand systems described herein can be utilized in various environmentsincluding private offices or living rooms and public venues such assports bars, casinos, sports stadiums, shopping centers, amusementparks, transportation terminals, educational institutions, and otherspublic and private locations.

1. A method for electronically facilitating the immersion of spectatorsin a live event, the method comprising: storing in at least one serverassociated with a live event, a first set of data associated with thelive event, the first set of data including digital video associatedwith the live event and actual plays associated with action by at leastone athlete of the live event; storing in the at least one server asecond set of data associated with and electronically provided by anaction in the form of anticipated plays by at least onespectator-participant of the live event provided through at least onespectator-participant client device; monitoring the anticipated playswith respect to the at least one spectator-participant; collecting theanticipated plays provided by the at least one spectator-participantfrom the second set of data; and matching the anticipated plays withactual plays, the actual plays contained within the first set of data,wherein the matching results in a correlation of the anticipated playswith respect to actual plays by the at least one athlete to renderperformance data with respect to the at least one spectator-participant.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: image-processing thedigital video so as to transform the digital video associated with thelive event into a digital format suitable for display of the digitalvideo in a first display area of a graphical user interface of the atleast one client device associated with at least one of spectators andspectator-participants; and simultaneously displaying data representinganticipated plays associated with the at least one spectator-participantin a second display area of the graphical user interface of the at leastone client device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least onespectator-participant is also a spectator of the live event whenreceiving data at the at least one spectator-participant client deviceand is a spectator-participant in the live event when providing data inthe form of anticipated action via the at least onespectator-participant client device to the at least one serverassociated with the live event, and more than one spectator alsoreceives the data at client devices associated with each of the morethan one spectator.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the live eventcomprises an esports event and wherein the at least one athletecomprises an esports athlete.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein themonitoring the anticipated plays with respect to the at least onespectator-participant includes recording the anticipated plays in the atleast one server.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the matchingincludes real-time matching of the anticipated plays with an actual playby the at least one athlete in real time.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein the matching includes digital streaming of results of thematching to at least one client device receiving data associated withthe live event.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the performancerankings are utilized to determine at least one of: a prize allocationto at least one top performer selected from a pool ofspectator-participants; and establishment of a talent pool ofspectator-participants for use by recruiters of future professionalcompetitions.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one clientdevice comprises a VR (Virtual Reality) device and the digital streamingis enhanced for VR rendering via the VR device.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein the first set of data is stored in at least one database ofthe at least one server.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondset of data is stored in at least one database of the at least oneserver.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the second set of data isstored in at least one database of the at least one server and thesecond set of data is stored in at least one other database of the atleast one server.
 13. The method of claim 1, permitting the at least onespectator to wager on an outcome of the matching through the graphicaluser interface.
 14. A system for electronically facilitating theimmersion of spectators in a live event, the system comprising: at leastone processor; and a non-transitory computer-usable medium embodyingcomputer program code, the computer-usable medium capable ofcommunicating with the at least one processor, the computer program codecomprising instructions executable by the at least one processor andconfigured for: storing in at least one server associated with a liveevent, a first set of data associated with the live event, the first setof data including digital video associated with the live event and dataindicative of plays associated with at least one athlete of the liveevent; storing in the at least one server, a second set of dataassociated with and electronically provided by an action of at least onespectator-participant of the live event through at least one clientdevice; monitoring anticipated plays with respect to the at least onespectator-participant, the anticipated plays provided through the atleast one client device; collecting the anticipated plays from the atleast one spectator-participant from the second set of data; andmatching the anticipated plays with an actual play by the at least oneathlete after collecting the anticipated plays, the actual playcontained within the first set of data, wherein the matching results ina correlation of the anticipated plays with respect to actual plays bythe at least one athlete to render data indicative of performancerankings with respect to the at least one spectator-participant.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further configured for:image-processing the digital video so as to transform the digital videoassociated with the live event into a digital format suitable fordisplay of the digital video in a first display area of a graphical userinterface of the at least one client device; and simultaneouslydisplaying data associated with the at least one spectator-participantin a second display area of the graphical user interface of the at leastone client device.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the instructionsare further configured for storing results of the matching in at leastone database associated with the at least one server.
 17. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the at least one spectator-participant also comprisesa spectator of the live event when receiving data at the at least onespectator client device and a participant in the live event whenproviding data to at least one server associated the live event throughthe at least one client device.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein thelive event comprises an esports event and wherein the at least oneathlete comprises an esports athlete.
 19. The system of claim 14,wherein: monitoring the anticipated plays with respect to the at leastone spectator-participant includes recording the anticipated plays inthe at least one server; matching includes real-time matching of theanticipated plays with an actual play by the at least one athlete inreal time; and the matching further includes digital streaming ofresults of the matching to at least one client device receiving dataassociated with the live event.
 20. A system for electronicallyfacilitating the immersion of spectators in an esports event, the systemcomprising: at least one processor, and a non-transitory computer-usablemedium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable mediumcapable of communicating with the at least one processor, the computerprogram code comprising instructions executable by the at least oneprocessor and configured for: storing in at least one server associatedwith a esports event, a first set of data associated with the esportsevent, the first set of data including digital video associated with theesports event and data indicative of plays associated with at least oneathlete of the esports event, the plays of the at least one athleteprovided by the at least one athlete through at least one athlete clientdevice respectively associated with the at least one athlete; storing inthe at least one server, a second set of data associated with andelectronically provided by an action of at least onespectator-participant of the esports event through at least one clientdevice; monitoring anticipated plays with respect to the at least onespectator-participant, the anticipated plays provided through the atleast one spectator client device; collecting the anticipated plays fromthe at least one spectator-participant from the second set of data; andmatching the anticipated plays with an actual play by the at least oneathlete after collecting the anticipated plays, the actual playcontained within the first set of data, wherein the matching results ina correlation of the anticipated plays with respect to actual plays bythe at least one athlete to render data indicative of performancerankings with respect to the at least one spectator.